The allure of cigars
Is something that is beyond me. I don’t understand the allure of cigars. I have a few friends who like to smoke them on occasion which I don’t understand because I think they just make you stink afterward (besides giving you cancer).
So today, I asked. Apparently, the allure is not just to smoking a cigar but also to the deep conversation that is supposed to surround the experience. I didn’t know that connection existed.
After a bit of conversation and misunderstanding (comparisons to blogs and drinking tea included), I finally understand it a little better. It comes back to a common norm (not absolute, but common) that guys often talk about important things of life while doing something. This may be while working on a car, playing sports, or any number of other things that allow some degree of activity.
My hypothesis is that smoking cigars may allow for deep conversation because, while it allows for some activity, the activity of smoking does not require much in the way of brain activity, leaving one’s focus for the conversation. I also think that there’s an assumed “coolness” factor for some people. I don’t assume that; I think smoking in general is gross, cigars included. The process of trying to understand why some people like cigars was more interesting to me than the conclusions I finally reached.
(I know that this is an odd subject for this blog, but it fits in the spirit of learning random new things. 
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March 5, 2009 at 5:44 am
I, like you, had the same notion about smoking cigars. I don’t like the smell of smoke that lingers for hours (sometimes even days) on your clothes, car, etc. However, my notion about people who smoke cigars, or have been doing it for a long time, have a different notion and understanding about it.
Two years ago, a friend of mine bestowed upon me a box of Cohibas Siglo I as a gift (for the non-cigar smoker, these are Cuban cigars, cannot be bought in the U.S., and I learned recently that is not legal to even own them). Although I do not smoke, I thought it was a nice gesture, so I kept them. During an extended business trip, I took them with me with the intention of giving them to a few select people as “Thank you’s” for their support through different endevours. At the end of a very busy and productive week, a small group broke out after dinner for a night cap. Some of them were already smoking their respective cigars, so I decided to break out the box and give them away to the people selected – saving one for myself, and in the spirit of sharing the moment with them, I decided to have my first smoke.
Here’s what I learned from the 2 hour experience:
- Most people who smoke cigars do not smoke cigarettes.
- They consider smoking a cigar a “mini-vacation”. Why? The cigar smoking experience should be slow, methodical, relaxing. Just like drinking wine, you should detect different flavors in the tobacco blend and throughout the smoke.
- You should not inhale – it is a tasting expreience.
- Because of the calmness and patience entailed, everybody is focus (as you mentioned), on the conversation, and it does spark an air of camaraderie – no matter what the subject matter is.
- The “looking cool” part is only the perception of the outsider. Since you are so relaxed and in the moment, you end up looking “cool”. But this is not noticed nor mentioned by those involved, only the ones observing from outside.
At the end of the day, I had to take my suite to the cleaners to take care of the smoke odor. However, that was a different experience, and one that I really enjoyed. I still do not smoke cigars or cigarettes. But the result of that experience at the time and afterwards, made me a believer. I now collect cigars, and take a few with me in every business meeting. Just like golf, it is a very useful team buidling tool.